November 7, 2014

It felt like everybody was in a group hug when I attended a biofuel panel discussion at the recently-held World Bio Markets USA with POET-DSM, GranBio and Abengoa Bioenergy in attendance.

Abengoa had its grand opening celebration last month with its new 25 mgpy cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas. The facility is expected to use around 350,000 tons/year of biomass (corn stover residues). The facility will also feature an electricity cogeneration component that will generate up to 21 megawatts of electricity - enough to power itself and provide power to the local community.

According to Abengoa CEO, Manuel Sanchez Ortega, the Hugoton plant is the result of 10 years of technical development, roughly 40,000 hours of pilot and demonstration plant operation. Abengoa received a $134.2 million loan guarantee and a $97 million grant from the US Department of Energy to support construction of the Hugoton facility.